ST. MARYS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — If Gianna Surra could be anyone for a day, she would be a kicker in the NFL.
“Being a professional kicker would be amazing,” she said.
Surra, an incoming senior star on the softball field at St. Marys High School as a catcher where she hit .368 with a team-leading 21 RBIs for the District 9 champion Dutch this season, and is also a standout soccer and bocce player at the school, has always loved another sport.
Football.
“Years ago my dad promised me I could play football if I stick with soccer,” Surra said. “One of our kickers graduated (before last year), so I knew there wasn’t anybody to kick. We contacted the coach and asked if I could have a chance to try it.”
She got that opportunity.
Surra was 20 of 26 on extra points last season for St. Marys.
She didn’t attempt a field goal, but Surra thinks that is coming.
She’s been booming 37-yarders in practice regularly and is trying to add to her range.
“I can always get better,” Surra said. “I’m still just learning — I’ve only been doing it for a year. I want to get as good as I can and practice is what’s going to make you better.”
Surra said she believes she can make an even bigger impact in the kicking game this season for the Dutch.
“I’m really excited. I have the basics down this year,” Surra said. “Last year I didn’t even kick live until our first game. Now I’m feeling a little better going into it this year.”
Surra admitted she felt the pressure, especially early in the season, to prove that she could do it.
She was able to rise to the occasion.
Surra didn’t have long to fret about her first kick.
“We scored on the first play,” she said, chuckling. “All my friends came after soccer practice to watch, so I knew I had to make that first kick.”
Surra did.
Kicking is something Surra hopes to do beyond high school.
“I want to do it as long as I can,” she said. “It’s just a different environment than anything else I’ve played and I want to stick with it if I can.”
THE SURRA FILE
NAME: Gianna Surra
YEAR: Senior
SPORTS: Soccer, football, bocce, softball
2022-23 HIGHLIGHTS: Converted on 20 of 26 extra points for the football team; batted .368 with a team-leading 21 RBIs for the D9 champ softball team and was a member of the unified bocce team at the school that won a PIAA championship.
Q: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned while playing sports?
A: If you work hard enough, you can succeed at anything.
Q: You certainly have — in a lot of things, like bocce. When did you start playing bocce?
A: Well, my family is Italian (chuckles), so we play a few times at family get-togethers and things like that, but this was our school’s first year having a unified bocce team. It was my first year playing indoor bocce. It’s completely different.
Q: Really? What’s the major differences?
A: The ball is heavier than the outdoor ball.
Q: The season overlapped with softball, didn’t it?
A: Oh, yeah. I went from our Punxsutawney softball game and left straight for Hershey for the state championship.
Q: What was it like winning a state championship in the first season?
A: It was a great experience, especially getting to states our first year. I can’t wait for next year. I’m hoping for the same result.
Q: What was the softball experience like this year?
A: I wish we would have done more. Winning the district was a big goal because we came short the last two years, so it was definitely an accomplishment.
Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
A: I love Broadway musicals, especially Mamma Mia.
Q: How did you get into Mamma Mia? How did it resonate with you?
A: My mom showed me it when I was four. She brought me to one of the Pittsburgh musicals and it just clicked with me. It’s that comfort movie. I just love it. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s an amazing movie about a mom and a daughter and it included ABBA music, so what isn’t there to like?
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